The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1892.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4044, 22 February 1892, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1892.

The Primate of New Zealand is at present in the proud position of being very much talked about, Whether the notoriety which he has achieved is precisely audi as his soul desires, is a point concerning which there may be differences of opinion, But we may take it as tolerably certain that the most reverend gentleman would not have attracted so much general notice if it had not been for the stormy scenes in which he has recently been a'principal aotor. So long as a man is simply.doing his duty, little or nothing is heard about him. But let a " scene" or" scandal " arise, and straightway he be. comes an object of warm, though generally unkind, interest. And if he happen to be a minister of re-ligion-why the interest is all the warmer, the unkindness often deepens into malice, We trust our readers will pardon this preliminary prolixity, when they realise how rarely we have a chance of moralising about the olerpy.

. There have been two distinct " scenes" in the Anglican Church Synod whioh baa just completed its session in Wellington; and in the columns of our various Wellington contemporaries the Primate has figured its" tyrannical," " narrow* minded," "obstinate," "disingenuous," " unfit for his position." Many other flowers of speech have been lavished upon liim, but unfor* tunately we have never kept a register of rudenesses, and consequently we cannot pretend to quote them with much fullness. The earlier, and more important Bynodical trouble was due to the Rev, A. R, Fitohett in maintaining his right to make "a personal explanation" in terms ■of Standing Order No, 19. But it turns out in the end that the rev, gentleman had no bom fide personal explanation to offer, It is not con' tended that he himself had been mis-, understood or misrepresented on any subject; and it seems tolerably dear that he was trying to avail himself of the forms of the Synod' to introduce matter which was at least irrelevant. While, therefore, we are obliged to join in the belief that the Primate was wrong in recusing Mr Fitohett any sort of hearing,' we are confident that if Mr Fitohett had been granted the rope he asked for he would have executed the" happy despatch" upon himself in about two minutes; for the Synod could not possibly have permitted any statement of the Rev. U. T, Howell's case to proceed under the shelter of the Standing Order referred to. The Primate has admitted that he was hasty in his ruling, but we trust to hear no more tales about " disingenuous rnotives," since, if the President wished to quasb. a certain subject, the would-be speakor was quite as desirous of dragging it in

Improperly, B'lt there js something else that we should like to say, jn yiew of the cheap fun which has been made about the Primate. We have been told that his conduot in theohair would surprise only those who came from outside Wellington, and we are expected to infer that all the other Synods are models of propriety in their method of conducting pusipesß. Yet' there is another side to this. First, with reference to General Synods, it is pretty: well known that under the Venerable Bishop Harper thf) courteous mildness of the President and his unhappily increasing deafness were somewhat taken advantage of. Members were not always quite careful to address themselveß to the chair or to confine themselves to the point, Secondly' it is probably true that there

were no persons moie surprised than tho Southern representatives, at the sovero stand taken by the Pre--1 sident of the Synod; for—we mention this in confidence-it is whispered that Bis Lordship of Dunedin does not invariably receive from his olergy and laity in Synod assembled the ready and unquestioning obedience, or the punctilious language, wbjch is the right'of'BV'ery■qh^rtoah'. conceive, then) that 'the Dunedin 1 olergy ahd laity will'' return lo homes,' jwssjbly'' brewing fire aud

frryj but suitably impressed with the recollection of a Bishop who enforoed his ruling, against.all coiners and endured no 'contradiction in the ohair, Viewed in this aspect, we are not sure that the ooourrenoe will not have had its use.

With regard to the Primate's unwillingness to allow the Synod to sit latfl into the night, we must oonfess we think him quite within his rights; and here, again, the imputation of motives by irresponsible writers is inuoh to be deprecated. But the truth is that the publio has not the chance of girding at a Bishop every day, and the oLanoe—like all unique opportunities-has been made the most of,. „We shall not be suspected of holding a brief for Bishop Hadfield; wo do not deny his infirmities of temper; but we submit, with all respect to those members of Synod who have taken an active part against him, and with all fraternal feelings towards our journalistic contemporaries, that although he has. the misfortune to be the most prominent clergyman of the English Churoh in this colony, he is nevertheless as much entitled to be spoken of witkout_ bitterness and judged without prejudice as though he were an obscure and happy artisan.